Texas, Alamodome home sweet home to Chavez Jr.

Champ has had 10 fights in Texas, two at the Alamodome.

Updated 10:17 pm, Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Photo: JOHN DAVENPORT, SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

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Challenger Marco Antonio Rubio (left) and champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. promote their Feb. 4 WBC middleweight title fight on Tuesday at the Alamodome. Neither is a stranger to San Antonio. Chavez already has two victories at the dome, and Rubio won a bout at Municipal Auditorium.

Challenger Marco Antonio Rubio (left) and champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. promote their Feb. 4 WBC middleweight title fight on Tuesday at the Alamodome. Neither is a stranger to San Antonio. Chavez already has

Boxer Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (left) laughs with his trainer Freddie Roach (right) during a press conference Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2012 at the Alamodome. Boxing promoters announced the "Welcome to the Future" boxing card to be held at the Alamodome Saturday Feb. 4. The card will feature a match between Chavez and Marco Antonio Rubio for the World Middleweight Championship and a match between Nonito Donaire and Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. for the World Jr. Featherweight Championship.

Wilfredo Vazquez, Jr. (left) and Nonito Donaire (right) pose for the media and people gathered at the Alamodome Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2012 during a press conference announcing a doubleheader of boxing matches called "Welcome to the Future." The fights, to be held Feb. 4 at the Alamodome, will feature a match pitting Vazquez against Donaire for the World Jr. Featherweight Championship and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. against Marco Antonio Rubio for the World Middleweight Championship title.

Wilfredo Vazquez, Jr. (left) and Nonito Donaire (right) pose for the media and people gathered at the Alamodome Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2012 during a press conference announcing a doubleheader of boxing matches called

Boxers Wilfredo Vazquez, Jr. (left) and Nonito Donaire (right) shake hands Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2012 during a press conference at the Alamodome announcing the doubleheader "Welcome to the Future" boxing card. The two matches will feature a bout between Vazquez and Nonaire for the World Jr. Featherweight Championship and a bout between Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and Marco Antonio Rubio for the World Middleweight Championship.

Although he was born and raised in Culiacan, Mexico, as the son of an iconic Mexican champion, Chavez has done much of his growing up as a fighter in the Lone Star State.

Nearly one quarter of his 45 professional fights have taken place in Houston, El Paso, Laredo, the Valley and San Antonio.

Perhaps that's why Chavez appeared so at home Tuesday at the Alamodome, where he came to promote the Feb. 4 fight card he's headlining against Marco Antonio Rubio.

Chavez, 25, already owns two victories at the dome, including June 26, 2010, when he defeated John Duddy in what proved to be his coming-out party as a pro.

“That's one of the reasons Texas is so special to me,” he said. “Without a doubt, that was the most important fight of my career.”

Now a world champion, Chavez (44-0-1, 31 KOs) will try to extend his record to 3-0 in the dome when he defends his WBC middleweight title against Rubio (53-5-1, 47 KOs), the WBC's No. 1 contender, in the main event.

In the co-feature, Nonito Donaire (27-1, 18 KOs) is scheduled to take on Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. (21-1-1, 18 KOs) for the vacant WBO junior featherweight title.

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The championship doubleheader will be televised live on HBO's “Championship Boxing.”

“What a wonderful way to start off the New Year,” promoter Bob Arum said.

All four of the featured fighters showed up at Tuesday's event. Two others, in addition to Chavez, have ties to Texas.

Rubio is a native of Torreon, Mexico. But he's fought three times in Texas, all victories, including March 10, 2005, when he beat J.C. Candelo in a 10-round unanimous decision at Municipal Auditorium.

“It's exciting to be back here and fighting on such a big card,” said Rubio, 31, who trained for a time with San Antonio's Raul Martinez in Jarrell. “I have a lot of motivation to win this fight. I want to be a world champion.”

Vazquez, 27, has never fought in Texas. But he was in San Antonio as a boy when his father, Wilfredo Vazquez Sr., a huge underdog, beat Orlando Canizales by split decision Jan. 7, 1995, at Freeman Coliseum for the WBA super bantamweight title.